from The
Spanish Civil War: Anarchism in Action (1984)
by Eddie Conlon

Chapter 2 -
Anarchism in Action

Anarchism is a most misunderstood set of ideas.
It is constantly portrayed as meaning chaos and violence. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Anarchists believe in creating a classless society. They oppose capitalism as a
system that puts the profits of a small minority of bosses before the needs of the vast
majority. It is a system based on the exploitation of workers, a system that inevitably
causes poverty starvation and war. Anarchists oppose authority in the sense of opposing
the 'right' of any small minority to have power over everyone else. They oppose the State
(meaning government, army, police, courts) as an institution whose purpose is to enforce
the will of a minority on the majority.

Anarchists believe in class struggle, that the
bosses and workers have no common interest and that the workers must organise to take over
the running of society Ordinary workers are quite capable of running society. It would be
done through a system of workers' councils with mass democracy which would be far more
rational democratic and efficient than the existing set-up. Anarchists stand up for the
freedom of the individual and oppose all oppression on the basis of race, sex or sexual
orientation. The only limit on individual freedom should be that it does not interfere
with the freedom of others.

From early on the anarchists opposed the building
of bureaucratic State Capitalism in Russia. Initially they supported the revolution but
were against the attempts of the Bolsheviks to take power into their own hands and create
the seeds of the "dictatorship of the party". Anarchists hold that how you
organise will reflect the type of society you want. Small minorities can not liberate the
working class, the working class will have to emancipate itself. Democracy and
accountability are the cornerstone of anarchist organisation. Direct action is the method.
Rather than relying on small groups they say workers do have the power and strength to
change society. That strength lies in their ability to organise at the place of work, a
strength that should be used not only to win immediate reforms from the bosses but
eventually to overthrow the whole system of capitalism. This belief is central to
anarchism Anarchists do not only want workers' control of industry, they want a society
where all relationships of authority are abolished and people do not look to others to run
their lives.

Bakunin

Anarchism had, and still has, a long tradition in
Spain. In the middle of the last century anarchist ideas were brought to Spain by Fanelli,
an Italian supporter of Michael Bakunin who was one of the founders of modern anarchism. A
Spanish section of the First International was set up and the majority within it took the
side of the anarchists in the International.

Anarchism developed rapidly due to the harsh
economic conditions that workers and peasants had to suffer. Workers increasingly took up
the ideas of syndicalism or anarcho- syndicalism, which were developed at the turn of the
century. 1911 saw the formation of the CNT. Syndicalism developed as a response to the
reformism of the existing trade unions and to the growing isolation of anarchist
revolutionaries from the mass of workers. This had happened as a result of a small number
of anarchists turning to terrorism and `propaganda by the deed', the belief that they
could incite the masses to revolution by committing outrages.

Syndicalism was an attempt to provide a link
between the anarchist movement and the workers on the shopfloor. Its basic ideas revolved
around all the workers being in one big union. All the employees in a workplace would
join. They would link up with those in other jobs in the same area and an area federation
would be formed. Delegates from these would go forward to regional federations who were
united in a national federation. All the delegates were elected and recallable. They were
given a clear mandate and if they broke it they could be replaced with new delegates.

Bureaucracy

Every effort was made to prevent the growth of a
bureaucracy of unaccountable full-time officials. There was only one full-time official in
all of the CNT. Union work was done during working hours where possible, otherwise after
work. This ensured the officials of the union stayed in contact with the shopfloor. The
fear of bureaucracy was such that Industrial Federations that would have linked together
all the workplaces of particular industries were hotly opposed. They were eventually
conceded in 1931 but never fully built.

Syndicalists distinguished themselves from the
other unions by their belief that the unions could be used not only to gain reforms from
the bosses but also to overthrow the capitalist system. They believed the Syndicalist
union would become the battering ram that would bring capitalism to its knees. They
believed that the reason most workers were not revolutionaries was that their unions were
reformist and dominated by a bureaucracy that took the initiative away from the rank and
file members. Their alternative was to organise all workers into one union in preparation
for the revolutionary general strike.

The CNT experienced rapid growth from the time of
its formation and by the outbreak of the civil war it had almost two million members. Its
strongholds were in Catalonia and Andulucia. It also had large followings in Galicia,
Asturias, Levant, Saragossa and Madrid. Its main strength was among textile, building and
wood workers as well as amongst agricultural labourers. As it preached social revolution
it was subject to vicious repression not only under the semi- dictatorship which ruled
until 1931 but also the `reforming' governments which followed. The Popular Front, with
its social democratic and Stalinist supporters, joined this list by showing it no mercy.

A-Politicism

The CNT was not a revolutionary political
organisation. It was an industrial union. Indeed it constantly played up its a-politicism
and argued that all that was necessary to make a revolution was for the workers to seize
the factories and land. After that the State and all other political institutions would
come toppling down. It did not believe the working class must take political power for
them all power had to be immediately abolished.

Because it was a union it organised all workers
regardless of their politics. Many joined, not because they were anarchists, but because
it was the most militant union and actually got results. In fact during the civil war its
membership more than doubled (this happened to the UGT too) at least partly due to workers
being obliged to join one or other union.

So obviously the CNT was open to those who were
not anarchists. There were many internal disputes, and tendencies did arise that were
reformist. Because of this the Federation of Iberian Anarchists (FAI) was set up in 1927.
It was based on local affinity groups and was not a political organisation as such. It was
there to ensure that the CNT remained `pure' in anarchist (FAI) terms. It succeeded in
this and many of its members became the leading lights of tile CNT. Other anarchist
organisations that existed when the civil war broke out were the Iberian Federation of
Libertarian Youth (FIJL) and Mujeres Libres (Free Women).

There is absolutely no doubt that the initial
response to Franco's coup was determined by the fact that the CNT and its anarchist ideas
held sway among large sections of the working class. There was no waiting around for
government ministers to act, the workers took control. Anarchist influence could be seen
in the formation of the militias, the expropriation and reorganisation of the land, and
the seizures in industry.

Militias

The government found itself in a peculiar
situation when the dust had settled after July I 9th. While it remained the government it
had no way of exercising its authority. Most of the army had openly rebelled against it.
Where the rebellion had been defeated the army was disbanded and the workers now had the
arms. The trade unions and left-wing organisations immediately set about organising these
armed workers. Militias were formed and these became the units of the revolutionary army.
Ten days after the coup there were I 8,000 workers organised in the militias of Catalonia.
The vast majority of these were members of the CNT. Overall there were 150,000 volunteers
willing to fight whenever they were needed.

This was no ordinary army. There were no uniforms
(neck scarves usually indicated what organisation a militia member belonged to) or
officers who enjoyed privileges over the ordinary soldiers. This was a revolutionary army
and reflected the revolutionary principles of those in its ranks. Democracy was control.
The basic unit was the group, composed generally of ten, which elected a delegate. Ten
groups formed a century which also elected a delegate. Any number of centuries formed a
column, which had a war committee responsible for the overall activities of the column.
This was elected and accountable to the workers. Columns generally had ex-officers and
artillery experts to advise them - but these were not given any power.

Workers joined the columns because they wanted
to. They understood the need to fight and the necessity of creating a "popular
army". They accepted discipline not because they were told to but because they
understood the need to act in a co-ordinated manner. Members accepted orders because they
trusted those who gave them. They had been elected from their own ranks. Militias were
aligned with different organisations and often had their own newspapers. These were
political organisations that understood the link between revolutionary politics and the
war. The militias formed in Barcelona lost no time in marching on Aragon where the
capital, Saragossa, had been taken by the fascists. The Durruti Column, named after one of
the leading CNT militants, led this march and gradually liberated village after village.
The aim was to free Saragossa which linked Catalonia with the second industrial region -
the Basque Country, which as well as being a source of raw materials had heavy industries
and arms manufacturing plants.

The Durruti column showed how to fight fascism.
They understood that a civil war is a political battle, not just a military conflict. As
they gained victory after victory they encouraged peasants to take over the land and
collectivise. The Column provided the defence that allowed this to be done. The peasants
rallied to them. They fed the worker- soldiers and many of them joined. Indeed Durutti had
to plead with some of them not to join so that the land would not be depopulated and the
task of collectivisation could be carried through.

As the anarchist militias achieved success after
success ground was being lost on other fronts. Saragossa, though, was not taken and a long
front developed. The militia system was blamed for this. The Stalinists said the workers
were undisciplined and would not obey orders. They accused the anarchists of being
unwilling to work with others to defeat the fascists.

Of course this was nonsense. The anarchists
continually called for a united war effort and even for a single command. What they did
demand, though, was that control of the army stayed with the working class. They did not
believe that establishing a united command necessitated re-establishing the old militarist
regime the officer caste.

The major problem facing the militias was a lack
of arms. The munitions industry been cut off and the workers in Barcelona went to great
lengths to improvise. Arms were made and transported to the front but there were still not
enough of them. George Orwell (who fought in one of the POUM militias) described the arms
situation on the Aragon front. The infantry "were far worse armed than an English
public school Officers Training Corps, with worn out Mauser rifles which usually jammed
after five shots; approximately one machine gun to fifty men (sic) and one pistol or
revolver to about thirty men (sic). These weapons, so necessary in trench warfare, were
not issued by the government.... A government which sends boys of fifteen to the front
with rifles forty years old and keeps its biggest men and newest weapons In the rear is
manifestly more afraid of the revolution the fascists".

And how right he was. An arms embargo was imposed
by Britain preventing the sale of arms to either side, but not until mid-August. The
government which had 600,000,000 dollars in gold, could have brought arms. Eventually this
gold was sent to Moscow in exchange for arms but when they arrived there was a systematic
refusal to supply the anarchist-controlled Aragon front. The arms that did arrive were
sent only to Stalinist-controlled centres. A member of the war ministry referring to the
arms which arrived in September commented "I noticed that these were not being given
out in equal quantities, but there was a marked preference for the units which made up the
Fifth Regiment". This was controlled by the Stalinists. The Catalan munitions plants,
which depended on the central government for finance were compelled to surrender their
product to such destinations as the government chose. This withholding of arms was
fundamental to the strategy of the Stalinists and their allies in government for breaking
down the power and prestige of the CNT. The communists wanted to undermine the militias in
their efforts to have the regular army restarted. But more of this later.

This lack of arms did not only affect the Aragon
front. Irun fell because of the shortage of weapons. One reporter described it. "They
fought to the last cartridge (the workers of Irun. When they had no more ammunition they
hurled packs of dynamite. When the dynamite was gone they rushed forward barehanded while
the sixty times stronger enemy butchered them with their bayonets'. In Asturia the workers
were bogged down trying to take Oviedo armed with little more than rifles and crude
dynamite bombs. Although a few planes and artillery pieces were begged for, the workers
were turned down. Again the government's fear of revolutionary workers took precedence
over defeating the fascists.

It is a common lie that the militias, supposedly
undisciplined and uncontrollable, were responsible for Franco's advance. All who saw the
militias in action had nothing but praise for the heroism they witnessed. The government
made a deliberate choice. It chose to starve the revolutionary workers of arms, it decided
that defeating the revolution was more important than defeating fascism.

The Land

The peasants did not have to be told by Durruti
to take over the land. They had been attempting to do so since the foundation of the
Republic. Indeed the first government of the Republic had sent troops to murder peasants
who had taken land. In the Republic's first two years, 109 peasants were murdered. It was
in the countryside that the Spanish revolution was most far reaching. The anarchist
philosophy had been absorbed by large layers of the downtrodden peasants. Indeed at its
1936 Congress the CNT had gone into great detail as to how the anarchist society of the
future would look. The peasantry took the opportunity to put these ideas into practice.
Their efforts showed what could be done by working people (many of whom were illiterate)
given the right conditions. They made a nonsense of the argument that anarchism is not
possible because society would collapse without bosses ,government and authority.

Collectivisation of the land was extensive. Close
on two thirds of all land in the Republican zone (that area controlled by the anti-fascist
forces) was taken over. In all between five and seven million peasants were involved. The
major areas were Aragon where there were 450 collectives, the Levant (the area around
Valencia) with 900 collectives and Castille (the area surrounding Madrid) with 300
collectives. Not only was the land collectivised but in the villages workshops were set up
where the local tradespeople could produce tools, furniture, etc. Bakers, butchers,
barbers and so on also decided to collectivise.

Collectivisation was voluntary and thus quite
different from the forced "collectivisation presided over by Stalin in Russia.
Usually a meeting was called in the village, most collectives were centred on a particular
village, and all present would agree to pool together whatever land, tools and animals
they had. This would be added to what had already been taken from the big landowners. The
land was divided into rational units and groups of workers were assigned to work them.
Each group had its delegate who represented their views at meetings of the collective. A
management committee was also elected and was responsible for the overall running of the
collective. They would look after the buying of materials, exchanges with other areas,
distributing the produce and necessary public works such as the building of schools. Each
collective held regular general meetings of all its participants.

If you didn't want to join the collective you
were given some land but only as much as you could work yourself. You were not allowed to
employ workers. Not only production was affected, distribution was on the basis of what
people needed. In many areas money was abolished. People come to the collective store
(often churches which had been turned into warehouses) and got what was available. If
there were shortages rationing would be introduced to ensure that everyone got their fair
share. But it was usually the case that increased production under the new system
eliminated shortages.

In agricultural terms the revolution occurred at
a good time. Harvests that were gathered in and being sold off to make big profits for a
few landowners were instead distributed to those in need. Doctors, bakers, barbers, etc.
were given what they needed in return for their services. Where money was not abolished a
'family wage' was introduced so that payment was on the basis of need and not the number
of hours worked.

Production greatly increased. Technicians and
agronomists helped the peasants to make better use of the land. Modern scientific methods
were introduced and in some areas yields increased by as much as 50%. There was enough to
feed the collectivists and the militias in their areas. Often there was enough for
exchange with other collectives in the cities for machinery. In addition food was handed
over to the supply committees who looked after distribution in the urban areas.

As with the militias, slander was also thrown at
the collectives. It was claimed that each one only looked after itself and did not care
about the others. This was rubbish as in many areas equalisation funds were set up to
redistribute wealth from the better off areas to the poorer ones. It was ensured that
machinery and expertise were shifted to the areas most in need of it. Indeed one indicator
of the feeling of solidarity is the fact that 1,000 collectivists from the Levant, which
was quite advanced, moved to Castille to help out.

Federations of collectives were established, the
most successful being in Aragon. In June 1937 a plenum of Regional Federations of Peasants
was held. Its aim was the formation of a national federation "for the co-ordination
and extension of the collectivist movement and also to ensure an equitable distribution of
the produce of the land, not only between the collectives but for the whole country".
Unfortunately many collectives were smashed, not be Franco's army but by the soldiers of
the Stalinist General Lister, before this could be done.

The collectivists were not only concerned with
their material well being. They had a deep commitment to education and as a result of
their efforts many children received an education for the first time. This was not the
usual schooling either. The methods of Francisco Ferrer, the world famous anarchist
educationalist, were employed. Children were given basic literacy skills and after that
inquisitive skills were encouraged. Old people were also looked after and where necessary
special homes for them were built. Refugees from the fascist controlled areas were looked
after too.

Industry

Although the revolution didn't go as far in the
cities as it did in the country, many achievements are worth noting. It was in Catalonia,
the industrial heartland and stronghold of the CNT, that most was gained. In Barcelona
over 3,000 enterprises were collectivised. All the public services, not only in Catalonia
but throughout the Republican zone, were taken over and run by committees of workers.

To give some idea of the extent of the
collectivisation here is a list provided by one observer (Burnett Bolloten, The Grand
Camouflage by no means an anarchist book). He says "railways, traincars and buses,
taxicabs and shipping, electric light and power companies, gasworks and waterworks,
engineering and automobile assembly plants, mines and cement works, textile mills and
paper factories, electrical and chemical concerns, glass bottle factories and perfumeries,
food processing plants and breweries were confiscated and controlled by workmens's (sic)
committees, either term possessing for the owners almost equal significance". He goes
on "motion picture theatres and legitimate theatres, newspapers and printing, shops,
department stores and hotels, de-lux restaurants and bars were likewise sequestered".

This shows clearly that the portrayal of
anarchism as being something to do with quaint small workshops is untrue. Large factories,
some of them employing thousands of workers, were taken over and run by workers'
committees.

Often the workplaces were siezed because the
owners had fled or had stopped production to sabotage the revolution. But the workers did
not stop with these workplaces all major places of work were taken over. Some were run and
controlled by the workers. In others "control committees" were established to
ensure that production was maintained (these existed to exercise a power of veto on the
decisions of the boss in cases where the workers had not taken over the power of
management).

In each workplace the assembly of all the workers
was the basic unit. Within the factory workers would elect delegates to represent them on
day-to-day issues. Anything of overall importance had to go to the assembly. This would
elect a committee of between five and fifteen worker, which would elect a manager to
oversee the day-to-day running of the workplace - Within each industry there was an
Industrial Council which had representatives of the two main unions (CNT and UGT) and
representatives from the committees. Technicians were also on these committees to provide
technical advice. The job of the Industrial Council was to set out an overall plan for the
industry.

Within workplaces wages were equalised and
conditions greatly improved. Let us see how collectivisation actually made things better.
Take for example the tramways. Out of the 7,000 workers, 6,500 were members of the CNT.
Because of the street battles all transport had been brought to a halt. The transport
syndicate (as unions of the CNT were known) appointed a commission of seven to occupy the
administrative offices while others inspected the tracks and drew up a plan of repair work
that needed to be done. Five days after the fighting stopped 700 tramcars, instead of the
usual 600, all painted in the black and red colours of the CNT, were operating on the
streets of Barcelona.

With the profit motive gone, safety became more
important and the number of accidents was reduced. Fares were lowered and services
improved. In I 936, 183,543, 516 passengers were carried. In 1937 this had gone up by 50
million. The trams were running so efficiently that the workers were able to give money to
other sections of urban transport. Wages were equalised for all workers and increased over
the previous rates. For the first time free medical care was provided for the work force.

As well as giving a more efficient service the
workers found time to produce rockets and howitzers for the war effort. They worked
overtime and Sundays to do their share for the anti-fascist struggle. To further underline
the fact that getting rid of the bosses and rulers would not lead to a breakdown of order
it can be pointed out that in the two years of collectivisation there were only six cases
of workers stealing from the workshops.

Extensive reorganisation took place to make
industry more efficient. Many uneconomic small plants, which were usually unhealthy, were
closed down and production was concentrated in those plants with the best equipment. In
Catalonia 70 foundries were closed down. The number of tanning plants was reduced from 71
to 40 and the whole wood industry was reorganised by the CNT Woodworkers Union.

In 1937 the central government admitted that the
war industry of Catalonia produced ten times more than the rest of Spanish industry put
together and that this output could have been quadrupled if Catalonia had the access to
necessary means of purchasing raw materials.

It was not only production that was taken over.
Many parasitic 'middlemen' were cut out of distribution. The wholesale business in fish
and eggs was taken over as were the principal fruit and vegetable markets. The milk trade
in Barcelona was collectivised which saw over 70 unhygienic pasteurising plants closed
down. Every where supply committees were set up. All of this made the middle classes very
unhappy. To them, with their notions of becoming bigger bosses, the revolution was a step
back.

Again equalisation funds were established to help
out the poorer collectives Indeed there were many problems. Many markets were cut off in
the fascist zone and some foreign markets were also temporarily lost. Raw materials were
short as sources of supply were cut off. and when they could be obtained funds were held
back by the central government. This was one short-coming of the collectivisation.

The banks had not been seized and the gold
reserve already referred to stayed in the hands of the government. (The CNT did hatch a
plan to seize it but backed down at the last moment).

Despite all this production was increased and
living standards for many working class people improved. In October 1936 the government
was forced to recognise the collectivisation by passing a decree that recognised the fait
accompli. It was also an attempt to control future collectivisation.

Social Revolution

This is only a very brief look at the
collectivisation that happened. In keeping with anarchist beliefs the revolution did not
stop there. For the first time in Spain many workers had the benefit of a health service -
organised by the CNT Federation of Health Workers. The Federation consisted of 40,000
health workers - nurses, doctors, administrators and orderlies. Once again the major
success was in Catalonia where it ensured that all of the 2.5 million inhabitants had
adequate health care.

Not only were traditional services provided but
victims of the Civil War were also treated. A programme of preventive medicine was also
established based on local community health centres. At their 1937 Congress these workers
developed a health plan for a future anarchist Spain which could have been implemented if
the revolution had been successful.

The role of women also changed. Many gains were
made by them. In relation to their role during the Civil war observers have pointed out
that they played a full part in the anti- fascist resistance. They were present everywhere
- on committees, in the militias, in the front line. In the early battles of the war women
fought alongside the men as a matter of course. It was not merely a case of women filling
in for men who were away at the front. (Which is usually the case in wartime. When the war
is over and women are no longer needed in the labour force, they are pushed back into the
home).

They were in the militias and fought alongside
the men as equals. They were organising the collectives and taking up the fight against
the sexist attitudes of the past which have no place in any real revolution.

The Anarchist women's organisation, Mujeres
Libres (Free Women), had 30,000 members. It had been active before the Civil War
organising women workers and distributing information on contraception. During the war
abortion was legalised in the 'republican zone'. Centres were opened for women, including
unmarried mothers and prostitutes.

From all accounts there truly were changes in
attitudes to women. One woman participant in the Civil War has said "it was like
being brothers and sisters. It had always annoyed me that men in this country didn't
consider women as beings with human rights. But now there was this big change. I believe
it arose spontaneously out of the revolutionary movement..." Margorita Balaguer
quoted in Blood of Spain ed. Ronald Fraser, page 287.

Everywhere change was apparent. The whole
character of Barcelona changed. Posh restaurants no longer existed. Collective eating
houses took their place. A spirit of comradeship was in the air.

Everywhere councils of workers and peasants had
taken over administration. The Defence Council of Aragon was one of the highest
expressions of this. It ran the province and co-ordinated the work of the collectives and
militias. All the anti-fascist forces were represented on it but the anarchists were in
the majority. In Catalonia a Central Committee of Anti-Fascist Militias was set up on July
21st. Of its fifteen members five were anarchists, three were UGT, POUM had one, the
Communist Party had one and the republicans had four. Although the anarchists were supreme
in this province they hoped by sharing power that similar committees would be formed where
the CNT was weaker.

This was the situation in 1936. Although the
Popular Front government still existed it had no power. It was shorn of the repressive
organs of the state. Power was split into countless fragments and scattered in a thousand
towns and villages among the revolutionary committees that had taken control of the land
and factories, means of transport and communication, the police and the army. The
military, economic and political struggle was proceeding independently of the government,
and, indeed, in spite of it.

Such a situation is known as one of "dual
power". The power of the government was too weak to challenge the power of the
workers and peasants. And that power was not conscious enough of the need to dispense with
the existence of the government. Failure to do this allowed it to restore its authority
and become master of the situation. In trying to understand how this happened it is
necessary to look at the role of the Communist Party and that of the CNT leadership.

Chapter 3-The
Counter Revolution

The behaviour of the Spanish Communist Party and
the United Socialist Party of a Catalonia (PSUC) had more to do with what was in the best
interests of Stalin than what was in the best interests of the Spanish working class. They
went out of their way to deny that a revolution had taken place. Then they did all they
could to repress this revolution they pretended had not happened. As far as they were
concerned the Civil War was only about restoring democracy to Spain. To see why they took
this attitude we have to look outside Spain.

Stalin

Stalin believed that above all else
"socialism" in the USSR had to be defended. The interests of the European (and
indeed the world) working class had to take second place to the strategic interests of the
ruling bureaucracy in Russia. And they felt very threatened in the 1930s. Hitler had come
to power in 1933 and despite the fact that Stalin was seeking no quarrel with Germany
(three months after the nazi take-over Stalin had signed an extension to the 1926
German-Soviet Pact) relations between the two countries soon cooled.

Stalin's fear was that the British and French
would do a deal with Hitler and thus leave Russia open to attack. He believed they would
be content to sit back and watch Germany and Russia slog it out. When both had exhausted
themselves Britain and France would move in as masters of Europe.

Because of this Stalin signed a Mutual Assistance
Pact with France in 1935. There was no commitment to mutual military assistance in this.
For the French it was a way of removing any remaining links between Germany and Russia
while at the same time getting the French Communist Party to drop its opposition to their
government's defence programme.

So to prevent the British and French settling
their differences with Hitler at the expense of the Soviets, in order to guarantee that
the Franco-Soviet Pact would not fall by the wayside and in order to conclude similar
pacts with the governments of other countries, notably Britain, it was essential that
governments hostile to German aims in Eastern Europe should be brought to power. It was to
this end that the Popular Front line was adopted at the 7th World Congress of the
Comintern in August 1935. This body, also known as the Third International, collected
together all the Communist Parties under Russian leadership.

Popular Fronts

The immediate aim of this policy was to bring the
middle classes and sections of the bosses into a wide anti-fascist peoples front. To do
this Communist Parties were to play down revolutionary politics. This was to be a struggle
to preserve bourgeois democracy; and to attract middle class republican and liberal
parties extreme positions were never adopted.

The Popular Front policy was quite successful.
Early in 1936 Popular Front governments were elected in France and Spain. The programmes
of these governments were very moderate. In Spain a socialist proposal that the land be
nationalised was dropped because of republican opposition. There the Popular Front
consisted of the Republican Party, the Republican Union, the Socialist Party, the POUM,
the Syndicalist Party, Basque and Catalan nationalists (who saw their autonomy under
threat from the right) and of course the Communist Party.

When the Civil War broke out Stalin's
instructions were clear. All of the Communists' efforts were to be directed to one end -
winning the support of Britain and France and persuading them to drop their neutrality. A
non-intervention agreement had been signed in August 1936 with the hope of preventing the
extension of the conflict. Stalin believed that if Britain and France were to drop this
policy the Civil War could ultimately develop into a much larger conflict (Germany and
Italy were already giving military aid to the fascists). This conflict, from which Russia
would remain aloof would bring the warring parties to the point of mutual exhaustion and
the Russian bosses would then emerge as the new masters of Europe. Thus the revolutionary
aspects of the Civil War were to be denied and, the struggle was to be portrayed (and was
to become), a struggle that- went no further than basic democratic demands. Initially the
Stalinists had felt a need to talk of making a revolution after the fascists were
defeated. Even this empty talk soon stopped.

Of course the Stalinist (and Leninist) Conception
of socialism, is quite different from that of the anarchists. It is central to anarchism
that the masses take control and run society through a system of councils. For the
Stalinists socialism entails nationalising everything and turning over the running of
society to the State, which will be dominated by the Party. Control passes into the hands
of professionals, technicians and bureaucrats who begin to develop their own class
interests. Even if the Stalinists had decided to fight for 'socialism' they would still
have had to undermine the anarchists.

This policy of wooing the British and French
ruling classes was from the beginning doomed to failure - not only because of their
military unpreparedness but because of their belief that if they became involved at this
stage in a war with Hitler, both they and the Nazis would be weakened and thus the
position of Russia would be enhanced. At all times right up to the outbreak of W.W.II the
British sought to come to terms with Hitler which would leave him free to attack Russia in
the East.

Navy

The activities of the Navy, which had remained
loyal to the Republic, were severely curtailed so as not to upset Anglo-French interests
in the Straight of Gibraltar. The navy had been very successful in harassing Franco's base
in Morocco but their activities were halted to keep the two foreign powers happy. In line
with this the Republican government refused to give Morocco its independence and thus
deprive Franco of his base - To do this would have upset British and French colonial
interests in North Africa. The example of Spanish Morocco could have given other subject
nations ideas. Indeed at one stage the government offered to give Britain and France
interests in Spanish Morocco in exchange for their intervention.

The revolution that had broken out was of supreme
embarrassment to the Communists. Whatever chance they had of winning over Britain and
France was lessened by the fact that a social revolution had started. There was no way the
British and French governments would intervene on the side of revolutionaries. Thus the
revolution was to be hidden and eventually suppressed. The power of the collectives and
militias was to be smashed.

At the outbreak of the Civil War there were
40,000 members of the Spanish Communist Party. The question naturally arises as to how
such a small organisation could so decisively influence the course of events and in time
become the dominant group in the Popular Front camp.

In building their Party the Communists placed a
lot of emphasis on Catalonia as this was the heartland of the revolution. The
collectivisation movement seriously upset the middle classes. Small businesses were closed
and everywhere 'middle-men' found their role abolished as the workers committees took over
distribution. The middle classes would have turned to their traditional parties but viewed
them as incapable of stemming the collectivisation movement. The Communist Party seemed
the only party serious about protecting their property or getting it back from the
workers. One former Communist commented "In Murcia and elsewhere I saw that our
placards and leaflets appealed for shopkeepers' membership with the promise of absolute
support for private property".

Leaps and Bounds

Membership of the Communist Party grew in leaps
and bounds. Within a few months of the outbreak of the war 76,700 peasant proprietors and
tenant farmers along with 15,485 members of the urban middle classes had joined up. Its
influence among these layers went far beyond these figures as thousands of members of the
intermediate classes, without actually joining the Party, placed themselves under its
wing. As a means of protecting the interests of the urban middle classes in Catalonia the
Communists organised 18,000 tradesmen, handicraftmen and small manufacturers into an
organisation called the C.E.P.C.I Solidaridad Obrero (Workers Solidarity) the paper of the
CNT commented that some of those in this body were "intransigent employers,
ferociously anti- labour". By March 1937 the Communist Party had 250,000 members.

Other measures were also taken to extend its
influence - Only four days after the military uprising, the Communists merged with the
Catalan Socialists to form the PSUC. The local UGT came under PSUC dominion. Leading
members of both the Socialist Party and the UGT in other areas defected to the Communists,
some secretly. Many members of the Socialist Party could see little difference between
their line and that of the Communists winning the war came before the revolution,
conciliatory attitudes towards foreign powers, etc. - But because the Communists had the
stronger Party apparatus (reinforced as it was by Moscow) it was able to recruit at the
expense of the Socialists. Many joined because of its "proselytising zeal, immensely
skillful propaganda, its vigour, its organising capacity and the prestige it derived from
Soviet arms".

The Communists gained control of the JSU (United
Socialist Youth). This grouping resulted from a merger of the Communists and Socialist
youth organisations. It had 50,000 members and was formed shortly before the war began.
Most of the leading members of the Socialist Youth defected to the Communists with the
merger and thus ensured Communist control of the new organisation.

It would be wrong to suggest that the counter-
revolution that came was only as a result of the line and activities of the Communists.
The Republicans and Socialists agreed with them. The Republicans, who lacked any real base
among the masses, retired to the background and ceded to the Communists the delicate job
of opposing the social revolution and defending the middle classes. Even Largo Caballero,
who became Prime Minister in August, the one time left wing Socialist and leader of the
UGT, declared on forming the government that it was "necessary to sacrifice
revolutionary language to win the friendship of the democratic powers" and the
"Spanish government is not fighting for socialism but for democracy and
constitutional rule". Although Caballero did not go all the way with the Communists
there were many in his party, even his closest allies, who worked for the Communist line
against the social revolution.

It must also be stated that the participation of
members of the CNT in the government helped the growing counter-revolution. They entered
the Catalan government in September (it must be remembered that Catalonia was semi-
autonomous) and the national government in November 1936. This will be dealt with in more
detail in the final chapter, suffice to say their participation lent the government a
certain credibility with the masses. The key element in proving to the world that the
fight in Spain was simply to restore democracy, to rebuild the shattered state machine and
return to the government the authority and power that was in the hands of the armed
workers. CNT participation served to put a check on the masses and make them believe they
had a stake in the government and should defend it.

Russian Arms

The point about the Communist Party is that they
directed the counter-revolution. They called the shots. They were the only people who were
clear about the 'necessity' for the counter-revolution and had the determination to carry
it through. Their ability to do this was derived from the prestige that came with the fact
that Russia was the only country supplying major quantities of arms to the Republic.
(Mexico was the only other country to help, supplying a small quantity). The Russians not
only supplied arms but also military advisors and technicians who gradually took over the
running of the war.

Stalinists will tell you that Russia provided
arms right from the beginning. This is a lie - Stalin at first agreed to the non-
intervention pact for fear of antagonising the West. The first arms did not arrive until
October and then it was out of fear that German and Italian arms would give a decisive
edge to the fascists. Aid was given "covertly and in order to limit the possibility
of involving Russia in a war" (Krivitsky In Stalin's Secret Service p. 81 - Krivitsky
was Stalin's Chief of Intelligence in Western Europe). Because of this fear of involvement
in war with Germany and Italy, aid was limited to bolstering the resistance until such
time as Britain and France might intervene. This aid had to be paid for - the Spanish gold
reserve was moved to Moscow.

The Communists knew that if a far reaching
counter-revolution was to be enforced the State, with their support, would have to regain
control of the army and the police. There was no point in telling workers to drop
collectivisation and give up their arms if this order could not be imposed. All States
rest on this use of force and that is why a successful revolution can only be made when
the people are armed.

Because of Soviet aid it was easy for the
Communists to gain control of the armed forces. It was not because of the amount of arms
sent but the fact that the Soviets were the major purveyors of war materials. The Navy and
Air Minister, Prieto, often made fun of his office declaring that he "was neither a
Minister or anything else because he received no obedience from the air force. The real
Air Minister was the Russian General Duglas".

Militarisation

Because of this control of arms the Communists,
supported by the others, enforced militarisation. The militia system was broken up. A
regular army was rebuilt with officers, regimentation, saluting and differential rates of
pay. The militias who refused to come under the command of the War Ministry (and many CNT
and POUM militias did refuse) were starved of arms. They were left with no choice.

The new army was built under Communist control.
They knew that without control of the army they could not hope to control the anti-fascist
camp. Because the Fifth Regiment (the major Stalinist controlled unit) took a lead in
disbanding, the Communists gained control of five of the six brigades of the new army.
They also gained control of the General Commissariat of War which was set up for the
purpose of exercising political control of the army through the medium of political
commissars. As most of these were Stalinists they controlled the flow of political papers
to the front. Invariably the anarchist papers were held up. All the soldiers read were the
lies of the Communist Party.

Not only the army was rebuilt but also the
police, especially the hated Civil Guards who had been a bulwark of repression against the
CNT. They were now to be called the National Republican Guard. The Assault Guards were re-
established and had 28,000 recruits by the beginning of December. The Carabineros, who
were the border police in charge of customs and under the control of Minister of Finance
Negrin (a known Communist sympathiser) grew to 40,000 members. Before the War there were
only 16000 of them and that was in the whole of Spain. Negrin's under- secretary made it
clear what their role was "You are the guardians of the state and those visionaries
who believe that a chaotic situation of social indiscipline and licentiousness is
permissible are utterly mistaken because the army of the people, as well as you
Carabineros, will know how to prevent it".

The state was giving itself a monopoly of force.
The workers' patrols which had sprung up in July were disbanded. Workers were ordered to
hand in their arms and those who declined to do so were considered 'fascists'. It was said
that these arms were needed at the front. While it is true that arms were needed at the
front this argument was only put forward as a means of disarming revolutionary workers.
There were plenty of arms under the control of the police. George Orwell observed after
the May Days in Barcelona "the Anarchists were well aware that even if they
surrendered their arms, the PSUC would retain theirs, and this is in fact what happened
after the fighting was over. Meanwhile actually visible on the streets, there were
quantities of arms which would have been very welcome at the front, but which were being
retained for the 'non-political' police forces in the rear". (Homage to Catalonia
p.151).

The counter-revolution now moved against the
Collectives. On January 7th 1937 the dissolution of the workers supply committees was
declared. Distribution of food was handed over to the G.E.P.C.I. This led to shortages and
hoarding to inflate prices. For the first time in the war Barcelona experienced hunger yet
there was plenty of food. The collectives were blamed but it was well known that if you
joined the PSUC you could be guaranteed food.

Nationalisation

Credit was withheld from those workplaces who
refused to come under government control. As said earlier the banks had not been taken
over so the government had a huge lever against the workers. Nationalisation of major
industries was declared thus bringing them under government control. They claimed this was
necessary for the war effort. They claimed the collectives were inefficient and that each
workplace was only concerned with its own profits. It cannot be denied there were problems
with some better off collectives. But the CNT was aiming at co-ordination through
socialisation under the control of the workers. To do this all private ownership of the
means of production would have to end. Of course the Communists would not allow this as it
threatened their cherished middle classes.

On the land collectivisation was allowed only for
the lands of fascists, the estates of those who supported the Republic were to be handed
back. How far the Communists were prepared to go was illustrated by the invasion of
Aragon. The Defence Council of Aragon was declared illegal in August 1937. This
declaration was followed by the invasion led by General Lister's (a PSUC member) 11th
Division. According to the CNT the land, farm implements, cattle and horses which had been
confiscated from supporters of the right wing were returned to their former owners.

In some villages farms were deprived of the seed
needed for sowing while 600 CNT members were arrested. In all, 30% of the collectives were
destroyed and the sowing of crops was disrupted. As can be imagined nothing but hatred,
resentment and disillusionment resulted from this invasion and the repression that
followed. The peasants began to wonder what they were fighting for. The resultant
disillusionment no doubt contributed to the collapse of the front a few months later.
Similar attacks were made on the collectives in Levant and Castille.

This showed how far the 'socialists' of the
Communist Party were prepared to go to follow Stalin's instructions. A more sinister
aspect of this was the existence in Spain of prisons belonging to the Soviet secret
police, the GPU (forerunners of the KGB). Their existence has been established beyond all
doubt. In December 1936 Pravda declared "As for, Catalonia, the purging of the
Trotskyists and the Anarcho-Syndicalists has begun, it will be conducted with the same
energy with which it was conducted in the USSR".

Here is what Krivitsky had to say about the
activities of the GPU in Spain, the decision to establish it having been taken at an
emergency conference in Moscow on September 14th. "The GPU had its own special
prisons. Its units carried out assassinations and kidnappings. It killed in hidden
dungeons and made flying raids. The Ministry of Justice had no authority over the GPU. It
was a power before which even some of the highest officers in the Cabellero government
trembled. The Soviet Union seemed to have a grip on loyalist Spain, as if it was already a
Soviet possession". (In Stalin's Secret Service p. 102).

The aim was to eliminate revolutionaries. Anybody
who dared to speak out against what they were doing could be the next to suffer. Nin, the
leader of the POUM, was murdered by the GPU as was Camillo Berneri, an Italian anarchist
who was critical of the CNT leadership. He published a paper, Guerra di Classe, which
argued for a revolutionary war against fascism. He was murdered by so called 'socialists'
for his principled revolutionary position. In July 1937 60 members of the CNT
`disappeared', a term used then as now for those killed by the secret police, though today
it applies to the dictatorships of Latin America.

Two Roads

Thus two mutually exclusive ways of fighting
fascism emerged. Firstly you could view it as the Stalinists and their supporters did. Go
out of your way to placate the bosses in England and France and hope against hope they
would intervene. So fight it as a Civil War a war over who were the legitimate rulers of
Spain. Relegate politics to a secondary role. Put revolutionary politics on the back
burner. Tie up thousands of arms in the rear repressing the workers' movement. Smash
collectivisation and sacrifice the gains of the workers and peasants to the international
interests of Stalin.

Opposed to this was the view that a revolutionary
war should be fought. Make revolutionary politics your central weapon. Give the land and
factories to those who work them. Make propaganda behind the fascist lines. Give the
peasants a real reason to fight Franco. Make it clear that collectivisation would benefit
them. As it was many lived in fear of the Stalinists smashing their collectives. Giving
the land to the peasants and making that a central plank of the fight would have deprived
Franco of many soldiers who were the sons and daughters of peasants.

Give freedom to Morocco. Organising an uprising
there against Franco would have deprived him of a central source of supplies and arms.
Appeal directly to the European working class (whose governments had no interests in
supporting -the Spanish Revolution. Appeal to the French workers, who in 1937 were
entering the second year of an upsurge which had begun with mass strikes the previous
year. Their action could have prevented intervention against the revolution by France, and
indeed Britain.

Seize the gold reserves and expropriate the
banks. Use this money to buy arms and make sure arms went to the fronts where they were
needed. These were the sort of things that should have been done. They were no guarantee
of victory but could have lit a spark which could have ignited right throughout Europe and
broken the isolation of the Spanish Revolution. It could have marked a turning point for
the whole of Europe. Instead Spain was to be yet another victim of fascism - and the Civil
War a prelude to a bloody world war. The Popular Front could not have carried out these
actions because it was based on an alliance of classes. The workers needed to take
complete control. This was possible, especially in Catalonia where a regional congress of
workers councils should have been called to establish a Workers Republic. This example
would have been followed throughout Spain and a revolutionary war could then have been
fought. Not a war to put the Communists, Socialists and Republicans back in government but
a war to liberate the toiling masses.

But the working class did not take power. The
CNT, which was in a central position to do this, refused. It opted for collaboration and
supported decree after decree undermining the revolution. Objectively the leaders of the
CNT and FAT became counter-revolutionary. In a dual power situation either the workers
overthrow the ruling class and take power or the ruling class regains control. There is no
middle way. The CNT in collaborating could go only one way. Revolutions cannot be half
made. The working class must assert itself or the revolution is doomed. So why didn't the
anarchists take power? We will now turn to this.

Chapter 4--A Fresh
Revolution

As said earlier Anarchists are against the state
- all states, whether they be liberal democratic, monarchist or totalitarian. Anarchists
view the state (the standing army, police, government, bureaucracy) as the organ through
which the ruling class maintains its control over the majority of the population. Central
to anarchism is the belief that the state must be smashed and replaced by a system based
on workers' and community councils. Delegates from each workplace and community would go
to regional councils which would then send delegates to a national and, eventually,
international council. Delegates would be clearly mandated and all major decisions would
be made at assemblies of workers.

Often these councils spring up spontaneously or
as organs of defence like the Soviets during the Russian revolution. Initially they
started out as strike committees but quickly developed into bodies on which the new
society could be built. This idea is central to anarchism. A free society cannot be built
on the old structures, new ones have to be built through which the producers can be
directly represented. Revolutions do not happen through parliaments or governments, or
trying to take over the already existing state machine.

The councils and collectives that emerged during
the Civil War, were the organs on which the revolution could have been built. But they
needed to be brought together at a regional and national level so the power of the workers
and peasants could assert itself and push the regional and central governments aside. This
would have meant refusing to share power with the remaining elements of the ruling class,
it would have been a major step in making the revolution complete.

C.N.T.

The CNT refused to do this. After July 9th its
leaders in Catalonia were called into the office of Companys, the Prime Minister of
Catalonia. Basically he told them they were in control of the region and he would be their
faithful servant if they took over. They refused. Instead they called for the formation of
the Central Committee of Anti- Fascist Militias. This was the first step in collaboration.
All parties including Republicans were represented on this body. It existed side by side
with the Catalan government. The Central Committee was displaced in September I 936 when
the CNT entered that government. In November four members of the CNT entered the national
government in Madrid. Two of them were also in the FAI.

This is a far cry from what was stated in the
CNT-FAI Information Bulletin of September 1936. In an article entitled The Futility of
Government it said that the expropriations that were taking place would lead ipso facto to
the "liquidation of the bourgeois state which would die of asphyxiation". Their
members were now joining the government of this very same state.

A number of reasons were put forward for this.
Essentially they amounted to swallowing the argument about Britain and France. It was said
that if a social revolution was made it would be crushed and no arms would be forthcoming
from the western powers (they never came anyway!). They had decided that winning the war
and making the revolution were two different things and that winning the war came first.
That meant collaborating in the broad anti-fascist front "... in order to win the war
and save our people and the world, it (the CNT) is ready to collaborate with anyone in a
directive organ, whether this organ be called a council or a government" (CNT, paper
of the CNT in the Madrid region, October 23rd 1936.)

Another reason put forward was that by entering
the government they could consolidate the gains that had been made. They could
"regulate the political life of Spain by giving legal validity to the revolutionary
committees" (Juan Lopez, Anarchist Minister of Commerce). There was even an argument
put around that entry into government was only for international consumption, the
revolution would still go on under the veil of legal government.

For these reasons anti-fascist unity was
maintained and anything that threatened to split this unity was repressed. The government
knew it was very useful to have CNT representation, it was an additional means of
controlling the masses. However it must be pointed out that the decision to enter the
government was taken by the National Committee without any consultation with the rank and
file membership. This was a real break from tradition, the necessity of acting with a
minimum of delay was the reason given by the leadership.

May Days

The role of the CNT played in government was
clearly illustrated by what became known as the May Days. On May 3rd 1937, three lorry
loads of police led by the Stalinist Salas, Commissar of Public Order, attempted to take
over the telephone exchange in Barcelona which had been controlled by a joint CNT-UGT
committee since the outbreak of the war. The aim of this was to wrest control of the
building from the workers and to remove control of the telephone system from them. The
telephonists had been able to keep tabs on what was going on by listening in on the calls
of government ministers. It was also the beginning of an effort by the government to
occupy strategic points in the city in preparation for an all-out attack.

The police captured the first floor because of
the surprise nature of their attack but got no further. Firing started. Word spread like
wildfire and within hours the local defence committees of the CNT-FAI went into action
arming themselves and building barricades. The POUM supported them and soon the workers
were in control of most of the city. The government had control of only the central area,
which could very easily have been taken.

In other areas of Catalonia action was also
taken. Civil Guards were disarmed and offices of the PSUC were seized as a
"preventive measure". There was no firing on the first night and by the second
day the workers were spreading the barricades further into the suburbs. Also involved were
the Libertarian Youth (FIJL). Being in control the workers could have taken over but an
order from Casa CNT (the H.Q.) forbade all action and ordered workers to leave the
barricades.

The leaders of the CNT entered into negotiations
with the government, which had the effect of giving the government forces more time to
fortify buildings and to occupy the Cathedral towers. All day Tuesday (May 4th) the
Regional Committee of the CNT appealed again and again over loudspeakers for the
barricades to be dismantled and for a return to work. As these appeals were made
negotiations went on and appeals came into Casa CNT from other workers centres who were
now coming under attack. The CNT government ministers were recalled from Valencia (where
the central government was now situated) to make further appeals to the workers.

The negotiations which went on, led to nothing as
regards control of the telephone phone exchange. The workers were ordered off the
barricades and unfortunately they went. On Thursday (May 6th) the building was vacated and
the PSUC took it over. On the same day the railway station was taken over by the PSUC. The
CNT had also controlled that. This happened throughout Catalonia.

On Friday 5,000 Assault Guards arrived from
Valencia. The repression that followed was severe. The May days left 500 dead and 1,100
wounded. Hundreds more were killed during the "mopping up " of the next few
weeks.

It was in May that control over public order in
Catalonia passed to Valencia and in effect Catalan autonomy ceased to exist. After May the
CNT ministers along with Cabellero were disposed of. The new government was clearly under
Stalinist control. The CNT ministers had served their function and were no longer
necessary. The counter-revolution broke out in earnest after May with decree after decree
undermining the revolutionary committees. This was now possible as the backbone of the
revolution - the Catalan workers had been crushed.

Friends of Durruti

During the May Days an alternative to the
policies of the CNT National Committee emerged in the form of the Friends of Durruti
(FoD). This group, formed in March 1937, consisted of CNT militants opposed to the policy
of militarising the militias. They took the name of Durruti who had led the Aragon
militias and had defended the social revolution to the hilt. When it was suggested to him
that the CNT should enter the government to legalise the gains of the revolution, he
responded "When the workers expropriate the bourgeoisie, when one attacks foreign
property, when public order is in the hands of the workers, when the militia is controlled
by the unions, when, in fact, one is in the process of making a revolution from the bottom
up, how is it possible to give this a legal basis?".

In March Jaime Balius, one of the leading
militants of the FoD, had said that "We anarchists have arrived at the limits of our
concessions... not another step back. It is the hour of action. Save the revolution. If we
continue to give up our position there is no doubt that in a short time we shall be
overwhelmed. It is for this fundamental reason that it is necessary to develop a new
orientation in our movement".

By this new direction was meant an end to
a-political anarchism. "To beat Franco -we need to crush the bourgeoisie and its
Stalinist and Socialist allies. The capitalist state must be destroyed totally and there
must be installed workers' power depending on rank and file workers' committees. A
political anarchism has failed". During the May Days they called for the setting up
of a Revolutionary Junta. They called for the disarming of the police, the socialisation
of the economy, the dissolving of the political parties that had turned against the
working class. In effect they called for workers' power. They called on the workers to
stay at the barricades until they had control of Catalonia. On Tuesday May 6th the
Regional Committee of the CNT issued a statement disowning the FoD as 'agents
provocateurs'. The same day the FoD containing a blistering attack on the CNT leadership
and saying a revolutionary opportunity had been wasted. The FoD were expelled from the CNT
at the end of May. Their offices were taken over by the police and their organisation was
outlawed.

Junta

You may be surprised by the idea of anarchists
calling for a 'junta', but what was meant by it? In their pamphlet Towards a Fresh
Revolution issued in mid-1938, the FoD explained what the junta would be. They described
it as a slight variation in anarchism. "The body will be organised as follows:
members of the revolutionary Junta will be elected by democratic vote in the union
organisations. Account is to be taken of the number of comrades away at the front. These
comrades must have a right to representation. Posts are to come for re- election so as to
prevent anyone growing attached to them. And the trade union assemblies will exercise
control over the junta's activities."

These were no self-appointed group of leaders,
but a democratic organ through which workers could run society and complete the
revolution. There was no representation for non-working class organisations or political
parties. This was a far cry from Lenin's idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat (read
Party) which had such disastrous consequences in Russia.

The FoD was a break with the traditional
a-politicism of the CNT. They recognised that state power would not just disappear but
would have to be smashed and replaced with the power of workers' councils. They accepted
that revolutions were totalitarian in so far as "What happens is that the various
aspects of the revolution are progressively dealt with, but with the proviso that the
class which represents the new order of things is the one with the most
responsibility."

They understood the defects of syndicalism.
Nothing can be taken away from the militancy of the CNT. The rank and file literally tore
down capitalism and put workers' and peasants' collectives in its place. They fought
heroically in the militias and the members of the CNT surpassed all others with their
bravery.

But because of the CNT's a-politicism after the
factories and lands had been sleazed they did not know what to do next. For them the state
should have died a 'natural death'. But it didn't. Although the CNT had great ideas of
what the anarchist future would look like and on the need for the working class itself to
make the revolution, it could not make a link between the revolutionary situation and the
goal of libertarian communism. As the FoD stated "We (CNT) did not have a concrete
programme. We had no idea where we were going. We had lyricism aplenty but when all is
said and done we did not know what to do with our masses of workers or how to give effect
to the popular elffusion". They held that the CNT ought to have "leapt into the
driver's seat in the country, delivering a severe coup de grace to all that is outmoded
and archaic".

The CNT did not understand this. They posed the
question as one of democratic collaboration - or an 'anarchist dictatorship'. Garcia
Oliver, one of the CNT Ministers and an FAI member, said "The CNT and FAI decided on
collaboration and democracy, renouncing revolutionary totalitarianism which would lead to
the strangulation of the revolution by the anarchist and confederal dictatorship".
They were afraid of taking the reins. But it was not a question of imposing an `anarchist
dictatorship' but of creating new organs through which the revolutionary masses could
assert their power. Syndicalism could not see this as it believes the unions (i.e. the
CNT) are the bodies upon which the new society would be built.

Because the state did not die the CNT felt they
had to participate in it to have some control. They ended up concluding this was the only
way they could have some say. They went even further and some of the drivel they came out
with was a direct result of their need to justify their participation. Take for example
"At the present time, the government, as the instrument that controls the organs of
the state no longer represents a body that divides society into classes. And both will
oppress the people even less now that members of the CNT have intervened".
(Solidaridad Obrero, November 4th 1936).

Alternative

The FoD was an expression of opposition to this
kind of thought. Not only in their paper, The Friends of the People, but in countless
local publications of the CNT, and indeed of the UGT, POUM and Libertarian Youth you can
find such opposition. However it must be said this was only given a clear expression when
it was too late. The FoD did not have enough time to win the masses to their position.
They understood the need for a regroupment to take on the leadership of the CNT. "The
vanguard i.e. the revolutionary militants and Friends of Durruti, P0UM and the Youth must
regroup to elaborate a programme of proletarian revolutionaries".

Here we see a recognition of the need for a
revolutionary minority to organise itself to provide leadership to the masses. Not a 'we
know it all' leadership but a leadership of ideas. An understanding of what has gone wrong
and what needs to be done. That the FoD did not set themselves up as "all-knowing
leaders' is clear In their proposal for a Junta.

The Spanish Revolution does not negate anarchism.
If anything, long before Poland, Czechoslovakia or Hungary it showed the bankruptcy of
Stalinism and the State Capitalism of Russia. The activities of the Stalinists were far
from what real socialists would have done.

On the other hand the anarchist masses threw
themselves into a fight against fascism, and its cause, capitalism. Unfortunately the
revolution was not complete, the CNT leaders held it back. Indeed their behaviour
highlights the effect that power can have on even those who lay claim to anarchism. Spain
provided important lessons for anarchists. It showed the inadequacy of syndicalism, the
need for political anarchism and the need for an anarchist political organisation. We have
to understand that the state and political power does not 'die'; it has to be smashed.

Above all. Spain showed what ordinary people can
do given the right conditions. The next time somebody says workers are stupid and could
not take over the running of society, point to Spain. Show them what the workers and
peasants (most of whom were illiterate) did. Tell them Anarchism is possible.

from The Spanish Civil War: Anarchism
in Action--An introduction to the role anarchism in the Spanish Civil War /
Revolution of 1936. A pamphlet by Eddie Conlon (1984). Online source.